Utah Travel Headlines

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Utah Liberalizes Some Liquor Laws

Utah is well known for its quirky
liquor
laws. But our state just took a step toward normal, when in a
special legislative session lawmakers voted to boosting the number of
liquor licenses by 90. They approved 50 new licenses for full-service
restaurants and 40 for wine-and-beer-only establishments.

A common misconception says Utah is a
"dry" state - that there is no place to get a drink. That
has never been the case. The State does control the sale of liquor. A
few years ago the Legislature overhauled our liquor laws and made
them more "normal." Now they have significantly increased
availability.

Liquor laws are often the subject of
intense debate in Utah. This law, however, had wide support, in part
because it also provided funding for increased efforts to combat
underage drinking and more patrols to battle drunk driving.